Don't Stop Believing
by isabellacrown1
Summary: DJ and Isabella cut a deal of sorts. He's a codebreaker and she's a thief.
1. Chapter 1

p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"You had been a thief of sorts from the day you were born. The world had not dealt you good cards, so why not take the extra, the fat, the clutter off those who had been given too many good cards? Especially on Canto Bight, where cards and booze oozed from the very pores of every visitor, and everyone who was happy to be there was a visitor. The permanent residents were not the kinds to slum thru the casino halls or bid at the race tracks. Two types of people called Canto Bight home; Those who owned the attractions like the casinos and tracks, and those who cleaned up after them. It wasn't hard to see which caste you fell into. Nails worked almost to the bone and dirt stains on your knees that might never actually come out, coupled with a scowl that never left your face. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"The race tracks were where you usually worked. The pay you got for actually sweeping the stands was close to pennies, but the people who sat there were careless enough to often leave behind purses, jewelry, and watches that you could trade for at least a couple credits. They were also frivolous enough to never call your manager asking if they had been turned in. If you had the money to travel just outside the system you could probably fetch a pretty hefty fortune for each thing you found, but the pawn shops and brokers on Canto Bight were so saturated with left behind novelties you could barely scrape together enough bread money for yourself the other kids You had taken under your wing. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"It was a crisp midsummer night on the beachfront as you walked from the small hovel you called home to the race tracks. The streets are packed. It was peak travel and the racetracks were likely to be busier than ever. Just about the only time the planet wasn't busy was during the two massive eclipses during the year, but even then there were tourists who wanted to see the sight themselves. You took the back streets in order to avoid the glaring looks from the travelers. God forbid they have to look away from all their sparkling desires for even a moment to see someone as earthly as you. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Walking into the back part of the racing stalls confirmed all of your concerns. Everything from the VIP boxes to the standing room had been sold out. You held onto the idea that there might be more left behind than usual but also gritted your teeth at the idea of how much there would be to clean. It's not like your manager would be very forgiving even with the large influx of the crowd. As you grabbed a broom you stole a look at his office door. It had a small but barred window in the middle. He was a ghastly looking fellow from some Outer Rim planet and found his way here, and his temper had traveled all the way with him. Rumor among the workers was that he had killed the previous owner, but it's not like anyone really got a chance to ask him about it. If you were lucky you would never see his office door open, and if you weren't it would be the last thing you would see. More than a few janitors and stable hands have gone missing after a "convenient meeting" with him. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"You stood at the edge of the cleaning garage and watched as the races went on. You couldn't begin to fathom the number of credits put on each of those animals. You also couldn't imagine how they were still running giving you had seen how they were treated from day to day. The creatures were too gentle and trusting for their own good, and their trainers took full advantage of that. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"You stepped out onto the open service track as sunset begin to settle in the east. The last of the three suns was setting and soon it would be dark. Well, not exactly dark. Canto Bight was one of the brightest spots in the universe, what with all the lights reflecting off the gaudy jewelry and excessive cufflinks of the guests. But for a brief moment, you could forget about all of that and watch as the millions of stars peeked out from their heavenly homes for the evening. Ever so faintly you could see the silhouettes of far away planets. What was going on there? In an age of starships and galactic travel, it felt almost pathetic that you would have to still stare at the sky and only wish to be out there. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"The sudden pain of something hitting the side of your head snapped you away from your daydreams. Your hand shot to your temple as you looked for the offending object. Someone from the stands above had dropped a glass. You stared up words grimacing. It was anyone's guess which chittering buffoon's hand the glass had fallen from, but it didn't matter. What were you going to do, run up there and demand an apology? You would almost certainly be shot on sight. You wandered back into the garage and waited for the races to be over. /span/p  
hr style="margin: 0.875em auto 1.2525em; border-style: solid; width: 124.875px; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;" /  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;" /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;" /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"By the time the two moons were high in the sky you are still only about halfway done with the stadium. Glasses and plates, food and drink were spilled everywhere with little regard for who would be there to clean up after them. Did these people really not think about what would happen after they left? Or did they just assume that droids did these kinds of jobs? Either way, your luck hadn't panned out as far as dropped belongings. You had managed to knick a couple of credits that have fallen among the trash but besides that, it seemed everyone was very careful with their coin purses and wallets. You tucked what you could find in a small pouch you had sewn onto the inside of your waistband on your pants. It was a little more secure than your pockets and a little bit more hidden, with a few pieces of cloth thrown in to muffle the sound of the credits clinking around. You pushed on scooping what you found into the small compactor Droid that followed you. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"You pressed your broom into the next pile trash when you hit something slightly more solid. You knelt down and knocked off piles of wrappers and betting receipts that hid whatever treasure you had found. Amongst the rubble, a handsomely sized coin purse lay. It was beautifully crafted and you could safely assume even the bag itself would fetch a nice price. You snapped to grab it and hide it on your person before anyone else could see you. Maybe you wouldn't go hungry tonight after all./span/p  
hr style="margin: 0.875em auto 1.2525em; border-style: solid; width: 124.875px; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;" /  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;" /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Soon enough your job was done and you went to collect your paycheck from the front desk. The small Droid clerk counted up your hours and pounds of trash move and shot out a check for a measly number of credits. You took it without complaint and started heading towards the front doors. The sooner that you could get home and split up the credits from the bag the better . Credits words as easily traced but whoever owned this bag would recognize it on the sight./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Just as you were pushing open the door grey voice came from behind you./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""She's a cleaner!" You recognized the voice of your manager. "Ask her, no me!"/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Hey!" a guard demanded. "This lady lost her purse at the tracks, did you find one?" Behind the large guard was a fat, green woman with baubles and beads hanging from her every limb, of which there were many. You couldn't help but notice the fabric of her dress was very similar to that of the purse At your waist and it seemed to be pretty in character for her to match her outfit to her purse. You also saw the looming shape of the Manager, clearly fuming. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Any articles we found would be in the office downstairs, I'm sorry I can't be of more help." You answered in a hurried tone and turn to leave again. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"As you turned your hips and pushed the door you could feel the small weight on your left hip drop it with a clink you knew the gig was up. Without even looking you begin sprinting out of the casino but it was too late. You felt too sharp pin Pricks in your back a sudden kick of electricity and even the brightest lights of Canto Bight suddenly faded./span/p 


	2. Chapter 2

p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Your head throbbed. Your bed at home wasn't very comfortable but you could tell right away that this was worse. Yes, you had definitely been carted off to some kind of jail. When you finally opened your eyes you unfortunately recognized the ceiling above you from years before. In a previous job you had spilled a drink on a customer and got carted down here as a reminder. But this was much much worse. You sat up slightly and studied the cell doors before you. You were thin, unhealthily so, but there was no way you were sneaking between those. You pulled your knees up to your chest and hugged them tightly . There was no clear way to run out of this one. You could feel your chest tightening and despite your best efforts, there was a dampness on your cheeks that could only be tears. You fucked this one up real bad. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Pathetically, you sniffled. It was then you heard someone shift across the room from you. Your attention snapped to the other small stone bunk where you had not previously noticed a dark figure lying there. It was watching you. You watched as it sat up and recognized the figure as a man. Could your luck get any worse ? Not only were you trapped in this time cell but now you are trapped with some kind of Drifter who could only have dark intentions for you . /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""F-f-first time in the big house, sweets?" He gave you a soft grin. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Not exactly." you exhaled. "But I think I might be here for a long time." /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""My god," he whispered with what could only be mock concern "Did you k-k-kill somebody?"/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"You gave a dismissive chuckle at that. "I might as well have." You looked at him and put on a face of intimidating stupor. "I, in my evil ways, picked up a purse that had been left behind."/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"He raised his eyebrows, maybe truly shocked. "You're a thief?" It was more of a statement./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"You rolled your eyes. "She left the damn thing at the track, that's not exactly stealing." You crossed your arms. "And it's not exactly like she was missing it or like she couldn't replace it. One jewel of her left ear was probably worth 12 times as much." /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"He studied with intense eyes. He was dirty, that much was clear. But you were no stunner either. His large coat hid much of his shape but you could tell he was a large man . You couldn't tell if the five o'clock shadow he was brewing was an intentional choice or simply a product of many moons away from home . /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""And you've just resigned yourself to s-s-spending your days in this hole ?" He questioned./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Unless you got a better idea…" You lay back down and rolled over facing the wall. Whoever the hell this Drifter thought he was, he was making promises bigger than he could keep. You heard him chuckle to himself and shift around in the cell. You just prayed he would stay on his half. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Do you wanna get out of here?" He asked softly./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Huh, yeah I'd love to get all the way out of here. I love to get off this shined shit of a planet and I'd love to get out of the system and I'd love to get the hell out of anywhere ." You huffed with discontent as you rolled onto your back. "And I'd also love to be drowning in credits, and have a drink in each hand, and be the goddamn Queen of the Universe!" /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""W-w-well," You heard him say "We can work on all those t-t-things later, but right now I can offer you the first." /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"You sat up and stared at him. He was standing at the cell door with it slightly ajar. Your mouth fell open. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Look, I can't p-p-promise you everything under the stars, But I can promise you two things right now. The first is that I can get y-y-you off this planet and the second is that if we don't move s-s-soon we're not going anywhere." He held out his hand. It was a snap reaction for you to stand and run to him. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"You had been unconscious when they brought you in here so you were completely lost on which way to go. However, the stranger seemed to know these tunnels like the back of his hand. He guided you towards a small service door and opened it with ease using a small chip he had tucked at his wrist. He pulled you behind him and started walking briskly through the even smaller hallway. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""D-d-don't stop for nothing." He warned in a hushed tone. You watched with wide eyes as he navigated the narrow alleyways. You also couldn't help but notice the tight grip he had on your noticeably smaller hand. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""How do you know all this?" You whispered./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""F-f-frequent visitor." You couldn't see his face but you could tell he was smiling. /span/p  
hr style="margin: 0.875em auto 1.2525em; border-style: solid; width: 124.875px; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;" /  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;" /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"A few more ducks and bends and you were out on an open street, somewhere behind the casino. It was early dawn you could see you from the first rising sun in the distance. You stared at him in awe./span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Who the hell are you?" It was a cross between admiration and fear. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I'm a lot of t-t-things sweetheart, but you can call me DJ." He smirked at you. "N-n-now, I need an hour to get the ship together, d-d-do you have anything you want to take with you?" /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Your head was spinning. "Wait, what ship?"/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"He was tapping on a small device he produced from his pocket. "Out of jail, get off this planet, out of the system, drowning in credits, have a drink in each hand, Queen of the Universe." He looked up at you with a plain expression. "T-t-those were your plans, right? I don't know how y-y-you planned on getting out of here, but most take a ship."/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"You squinted at him with untrusting eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure that it's not yours. What are you playing at, nerf-herder?"/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Ooh, t-t-that's a new one." He raised an eyebrow at you. "Listen, you have a lot of o-o-options. You can stay here, right here, at the door to the j-j-jail you just escaped from. You can go home, you can run into the countryside. You can c-c-crawl abroad a ship with an unknown destination and hope you don't get caught. Or, you can crawl abroad a ship with an unknown destination and at least be able to relax. I'll be at hanger 88-C in one hour, and I will w-w-wait for five minutes. That's all. You know how to get to that h-h-hanger?"/span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"You nodded, flabbergasted. /span/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.229999542236328px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Okay," he smiled one more time. "I hope I'll see you." And with that, he turned and took off down a thin route. You were alone again, but for the first time… that didn't feel right./span/p 


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